Life — August 9, 1917 — page 21: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a skeletal figure in tattered robes—a personification of Death or Poverty—standing in what appears to be a squalid tenement room. The figure holds something (possibly a document or eviction notice) while examining the doorframe. The cluttered, decrepit interior with minimal furnishings emphasizes urban destitution. The cartoon's title references "ward Morning," likely meaning a hospital ward or poor ward. The satire critiques dangerous living conditions in tenements or slums. The skeletal Death figure suggests these impoverished spaces are literally fatal—that poverty kills residents through disease, malnutrition, or unsafe housing. This reflects early 20th-century American social commentary on urban housing reform and workers' living conditions, common themes in *Life* magazine's satirical content.